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David James Dobson
(born 1965, Mississauga, Ontario) is a Canadian murderer
who is currently serving a life sentence in a medium
security federal penitentiary in Kingston, Ontario. At
one time he was transferred to a minimum security prison
but due to intense lobbying from the Dobson family he
was returned to medium.
On May 6, 1982, Dobson abducted,
brutally murdered, and raped then 16-year old Darlene "Dolly"
Prioriello at a Mississauga bus stop. He sent taunting
letters to the police in a "catch me if you can" style.
In a letter to Peel police he wrote,
"I won't strike again until next year at the same time,"
he wrote. "Set up your bait and try to catch me ... See
ya next year." He was apprehended and charged on May 12,
1982.
On April 17, 2007, Dobson was denied
parole. Now that he has served at least twenty-five
years of his life sentence, he will be due for annual
parole review every two years.
Man denied parole in chilling
Mississauga murder
Toronto.ctv.ca
Tue Apr. 17 2007
A man who brutally killed a 16-year-old Mississauga
schoolgirl 25 years ago has been denied parole, bringing joy and relief
to his victim's family.
David James Dobson, 42, must now wait two more years
before he can apply to be released from a medium-security prison.
Tuesday's hearing before a national parole panel near
Kingston was an emotional affair for the family of Darlene Prioriello,
who saw Dobson for the first time since 1983.
"He's cold," said Terri Prioriello, Darlene's sister.
"His eyes were the most horrible eyes I've ever looked into in my life."
Darlene was 16 years old when she was raped, tortured,
choked and bludgeoned to death with a concrete brick on May 6, 1982
after being abducted by Dobson at a Mississauga bus stop.
The autopsy listed the cause of death as a fractured
skull and asphyxiation.
Dobson, who was 17 at the time, was convicted of
first-degree murder the following April, but not before taunting Peel
police and his victim's family.
Dobson sent chilling "catch me if you can" letters to
investigators after the murder and even phoned the Prioriellos and told
them he had killed Darlene. Dobson was arrested a week after the murder.
Court documents show he has vowed to kill again on
the anniversary of Darlene's killing.
Darlene's sister Terri ripped up her victim impact
statement in frustration during the review on Tuesday because she says
she wasn't able to say what she wanted.
"They said, 'Well you can't say the word monster, you
can't call him a product of the devil -- it's disrespectful,'" Terri
said.
"Well where was my sister's respect
when he was murdering her?"
Darlene's mother Helen also called Dobson a monster.
She shouted "I'm not buying your act" when Dobson mouthed the words "I'm
sorry" to her.
In a 1998 interview Dobson said he found prison life
to be comfortable.
Darlene's family cheered after leaving the parole
hearing on Tuesday.
"He's staying home where he belongs, where he likes
it!" Helen said.
The Prioriello family is trying to change the parole
system through a nationwide petition.
They want parole hearings to be held every five years,
not every two years as the current rules allow.
More than 1,500 people have signed the petition,
available on their website at nofreedomdobson.com. The Prioriellos are
hoping to get 10,000 signatures.
Dobson is eligible for full parole for the first time
since his arrest 25 years ago.
He was transferred to a minimum-security prison in
2004, but the Prioriello family, with the help of the Canadian Resource
Centre for Victims of Crime, persuaded officials to return him to the
medium-security Bath Institution.
Dobson says he has an interest in "crime prevention"
and would like to do community education work with other offenders on
parole.
Mom steels herself to face teen's killer after 25 years
Family says preparing impact statements for David Dobson's parole bid is
painful, much like `burying Dolly all over again'
Bob Mitchell - TheStar.com
Apr 09, 2007
Writing a victim-impact
statement to keep her daughter Darlene's killer
behind bars was the hardest thing Helen
Prioriello has ever had to do other than
attending her funeral.
"I listened to her read it
and it was like she was burying Dolly all over
again," said Darlene's sister Terri, 43. "It was
so upsetting for Mom. She cried. Families
shouldn't have to go through this all over again."
But Helen, Terri and other
family members, along with many supporters, will
be at the Bath Institution in Kingston on April
17, hoping their heartfelt words won't fall on
deaf ears as the National Parole Board decides
whether to release killer David James Dobson.
Darlene, nicknamed Dolly, was
just 16 when she was abducted by Dobson at a
Mississauga bus stop May 6, 1982. She was raped
and mutilated and suffered a slow, agonizing
death. The autopsy revealed she died from a
fractured skull and asphyxiation.
Dobson, now 42, repeatedly
struck the young high school student in her face
with a concrete block. He also pierced her body
with safety pins.
He was convicted of first-degree
murder on April 11, 1983, and is now eligible
for full parole, 25 years from the date of his
arrest.
Dobson was scheduled to go
before the parole board last month but cancelled
the meeting, causing the Prioriello family to
prepare for the emotional day all over again.
Should the parole board
refuse Dobson's request, he'll be able to
reapply in two years, something the Prioriello
family is also trying to change through a
nationwide petition that is gaining momentum.
Nearly 1,200 names have been added to the
petition in the past four weeks.
"We don't think convicted
killers or repeat offenders should ever get out
and if you get life in prison it should mean
life in prison," Terri said. "But we know that's
not going to happen, so we're asking the federal
government to increase the time to five years,
instead of two years.
"Families have already been
victimized once. They shouldn't have to be
victimized every two years. Having to face a
loved one's killer and to read what he did to
her and how her death has affected our lives is
something nobody should ever have to do once,
never mind twice."
In his "catch me if you can"
letter to retired Peel homicide inspector Jim
Wingate, Dobson, then 17, described how he'd
killed the student behind a factory on General
Rd., near Dixie Rd. and Eglinton Ave.
"I won't strike again until
next year at the same time," he wrote. "Set up
your bait and try to catch me ... See ya next
year."
In 2004, Dobson was
transferred to a fenceless minimum-security
prison, in the usual process leading to release.
But with the assistance of the Canadian Resource
Centre for Victims of Crime, Terri persuaded
officials to return him to a medium-security
prison.
"I really believe with my
heart and soul that he will kill again," Terri
said. "We must save another person's life."
Terri hopes to get 10,000
signatures and then present the petition to
Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The petition was
launched in the Kingston area last month because
the family wanted people living there to realize
that Dobson would be "walking through their
neighbourhood" if he got out.
As difficult as it was to
write their statements, Terri said it's also
frustrating that they were required to submit it
30 days in advance so Dobson could read it.
"But we're not allowed to see
his material to find out what he wants to say,"
Terri said.
16-year-old Darlene "Dolly" Prioriello from Mississauga, Ont.
was
murdered in May 1982.
